Tragic details about Cybill Shepherd's children

Note: The article contains mentions of drug abuse.

Actress and model Cybill Shepherd has had a colorful life full of highs and, unfortunately, deep lows. And like their mother, Shepherd's three children have also been through tough times – especially daughter Clementine Ford-Wilcox, the most famous of Shepherd's children. Although it is commonly believed that the children of Hollywood stars lead magical lives in which they experience no real hardships, common sense dictates that even the most privileged people face challenges and experience trauma. The glamour of fame certainly hasn't shielded Shepherd's children from tough experiences.

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Shepherd has said she always wanted to be a mother, and when her boyfriend, director and screenwriter Peter Bogdanovich, refused to help her pursue that dream, she publicly left him. Shepherd married David M. Ford, and together they welcomed Clementine in 1979. Five years after her separation from Ford in 1982, Shepherd married Bruce Oppenheim. That same year, she welcomed twins Molly Ariel Shepherd-Oppenheim and Cyrus Zacharia Shepherd-Oppenheim.

Shepherd's children have varying degrees of fame, but since their mother is a Hollywood star, their darker moments – self-made or not – have been covered extensively in the press. Here's a look at some tragic details about Cybill Shepherd's three children. From trouble with the law (due to poor choices and substance abuse) to a heartbreaking medical diagnosis to dog thefts, this list has it all.

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Cyrus Shepherd-Oppenheim is the most unremarkable of all of actor Cybill Shepherd's children, but at one point in his life he made major headlines. That happened in 2010, when Shepherd-Oppenheim made some bad decisions that landed him in handcuffs and later rehab. While normal people in their twenties can make up for their mistakes and move on with their lives, children of Hollywood stars don't have that luxury. If you Google Shepherd-Oppenheim and his arrest, you'll only find one, which is a tragedy in itself. Because who wants to be defined by their lowest point? That in no way excuses Shepherd-Oppenheim's actions, but he surely must have evolved in the decade and a half since his arrest.

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Shepherd-Oppenheim was 22 years old and a student at the University of Pennsylvania when he was arrested for stealing cash, a digital camera, a leather makeup case and a small duffel bag from two passengers on a flight from San Diego to Philadelphia. He was detained at the airport and charged with theft and receiving stolen goods, which resulted in him being ordered to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and pay $55 in restitution. “Upon successful completion of the year, all charges will be dropped and the report of his arrest will be expunged. It would be as if this never happened,” attorney Bill Brennan said at the time (via The Philadelphia Inquirer). Except the internet is forever, and the unfortunate incident remains Shepherd-Oppenheim's only major headline.

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If you or someone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Cybill Shepherd is an outspoken advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, largely because of her late sister. “My sister, Gladys Terry Shepherd, was a lesbian and loved women her whole life,” Shepherd noted while accepting an award from the Trevor Project in 2019 (via The Hollywood Reporter). “But she couldn't feel safe coming out at the time.” Shepherd's visibility as an ally only increased after two of her children came out as members of the queer community, though her daughters have had very different experiences navigating their sexuality publicly.

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For daughter Molly Shepherd-Oppenheim – a television writer known by her middle name Ariel – the coming out process and everything afterward seemed to go smoothly. Shepherd-Oppenheim married fashion designer Eliza Ladensohn in 2019 and their love story was even chronicled in the New York Times.

Shepherd-Oppenheim's sister, Clementine Ford-Wilcox, had a much harder time with her sexuality. This was not due to personal reasons, but rather due to the press and fans. After Diva UK published an article in 2009 entitled “Clementine Ford Comes Out,” which emphasized her sexuality in a way that made Ford-Wilcox uncomfortable, fans interpreted subsequent interviews as the star's attempt to slowly come back into the closet. This led to hatred among fans, which “The L Word” actress found difficult to deal with. Ford-Wilcox also faced criticism when she later fell in love with a man (her now-husband Cyrus Wilcox), largely due to society's need to force people into unnecessary boxes.

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Clementine Ford-Wilcox followed her mother into show business but never achieved the same level of fame as Cybill Shepherd. This means that even though Ford-Wilcox is the one diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, her illness has often been portrayed in terms of how it affects her mother. “Why is the Race to Erase MS Gala so important to me? My dear Clementine. My dear Clementine has multiple sclerosis, but she's doing very well,” Shepherd said at a charity event in 2022 (via Variety). “My daughter Clementine's diagnosis was one of the most difficult days of my life, but she's doing well right now and I have two grandchildren.”

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An MS diagnosis is of course devastating for the individual, but Shepherd is right when he says that it really does affect the whole family. Other stars such as actresses Christina Applegate, Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Selma Blair have bravely described how their diagnosis has changed not only their lives, but those of their partners, children, etc.

Ford-Wilcox's symptoms began when she was a regular on the soap opera The Young and the Restless. “The eye pain started in April and the following November I lost feeling in my feet. The next doctor said, 'That sounds like classic MS.' I did my MRI and he said, 'Yes. You have MS.' I got a second opinion and even a third opinion and it was the same diagnosis,” Ford-Wilcox told Soap Opera Digest.

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As if dealing with a multiple sclerosis diagnosis wasn't hard enough, Clementine Ford-Wilcox felt additional pressure to keep her health struggles private while she was a cast member on The Young and the Restless, where she played Mackenzie Browning in 2009 and 2010. Ford-Wilcox first spoke publicly about her MS in 2018, via social media. While filming Y&R, Ford-Wilcox didn't tell anyone on set about her struggles, even after her diagnosis, even though it might have made her experience easier. “I lost feeling in my feet,” she told Soap Opera Digest years later. “It was very strange walking around in soap opera high heels. It's almost like I don't know where my feet are. But like I said, I didn't want to talk about it because I was constantly afraid of getting fired.”

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Ford-Wilcox was eventually fired from the soap, after which she stopped acting for many years. There was just too much going on for the star to feel acting should be a priority in her life, she said. “That whole period of my life was chaos. Total chaos. I mean, I was on the show, I was diagnosed with MS and then my relationship fell apart. Right after that, I got fired! It was the worst year and a half of my life at that point,” she said in the same 2020 interview. “Now I'm in a different place and I'm thinking about getting back into acting, but this time I'm taking it slow.”

Although Clementine Ford-Wilcox has lived a wonderful life, she has had to endure a few more setbacks than her two younger half-siblings. One of those tragic incidents — a dog theft — ended on a positive note, but that doesn't erase the trauma of the ordeal. Ford-Wilcox adopted her puppy, Winnie, in December 2021, and she quickly became an important part of the family. While it's unclear if it was Winnie's original purpose, the dog also served as a support system for Ford-Wilcox to manage her anxiety and multiple sclerosis symptoms. So the whole family was devastated when a dog sitter they found through a popular app refused to return their dog after what was supposed to be a routine stay at a kennel.

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“We placed our dog with this woman through Rover who had done an enhanced background check, and she disappeared with our dog. She went radio silent,” Ford-Wilcox shared in a tearful Instagram video in May 2022 (via People). “If you could please go to my main page and just share and share and share, then maybe we can get her back.”

The star decided to go public after finding the babysitter's apartment empty and the dog's collar in the trash, and even one of her famous friends stepped in. “Help. Spread the word. This woman stole my friend's dog. Spread the word. I'm begging you,” actress Sarah Paulson posted. Although no details of her recovery were released, Winnie was eventually returned home safely.

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